SeaJAM Festival Celebrates Jewish Arts + Music

On Saturday, December 8, there's going to be an all-out klezmer-funk, hip-hop dance party as ABRAHAM INC. appears for an exclusive show at the Stroum Jewish Community Center for Opening Night of SeaJAM: A New Festival of Emerging + Amazing Jewish Arts + Music.

ABRAHAM INC. is an unprecedented musical collaboration between three cultural visionaries whose disparate musical backgrounds fuse together to create an eclectic and undeniably danceable sound. Bringing together African American and Jewish musical traditions, mixing hip-hop, rap, and beats with funk and klezmer expresses a much-needed message of shared cultural history, tolerance, and partnership.

The nine-piece band is led by an unlikely trio. Fred Wesley is a legendary funk trombonist, known for his work with James Brown, Bootsy Collins, and George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic. Acclaimed clarinetist David Krakauer has toured with some of the world's best classical ensembles and has long been putting a modern twist on klezmer music with his avant-garde musical hybrid group, Klezmer Madness! Canadian Jewish beat architect and rapper Socalled provides a bridge between the worlds of klezmer and hip-hop, while also wowing audiences with his skills on the piano, drum machine, and even the accordion. Backed by a stellar band, ABRAHAM INC is at once funky, hypnotic, passionate, and hauntingly beautiful. Their debut release, "Tweet Tweet" hit #1 in both the Funk and Jewish and Yiddish Music genres on Amazon, and was featured at #40 on the Billboard "Heatseekers" chart for fastest sellers.

VIP tickets are $50 or $45 and include a pre-show reception and best-of-house seats. General Admission tickets are $30 or $25. Discount price applies to seniors, students, youth, and SJCC members. TeenTix members are always $5 day-of-show walk-up, and cash only, space permitting with ID. Dessert party for everyone after the show. Tickets and Info: SeaJAM.org

ABRAHAM INC. is also part of SJCC Arts + Idea's "Global Sound" international music series, featuring these upcoming shows: Yemen Blues with Ravid Kahalani on Saturday, March 2, mixing Yemeni and West African influences with contemporary grooves and ancient Mizrahi chants; and on June 2, Israeli singer-songwriter Roy Dahan makes his Seattle debut with his multi-layered, eclectic sound influenced by classic Israeli musicians to Leonard Cohen. Tickets and Info: sjcc.org/arts-ideas/music

SeaJAM is a new cultural festival featuring emerging + amazing Jewish Arts + Music, up-and-coming performers and top acts in music, dance, family shows, and comedy. SeaJAM is a new cornerstone program of the 2018/19 SJCC Arts + Ideas season of over 40 programs annually, including the annual Seattle Jewish Film Festival. Tickets and Info: SeaJAM.org | SJCC.org/arts-ideas

The Stroum Jewish Community Center inspires connections to build community and ensure Jewish continuity. Together we create outstanding programs, partnerships and spaces that welcome everyone to learn, grow and celebrate Jewish life and culture. Learn more at www.sjcc.org